Record numbers at the 2025 ROC

The 2025 Regional Officer Connection was a roaring success, sharing insights and information with chapters and dealerships – including some new offerings from H-D Financial Services

The annual UK and Ireland Harley Owners Group^® Regional Officer Connection took place near St Neots, Bedfordshire in October 2025. At least one officer from each chapter attended, as well as representatives from some of the dealerships. Chapter officers work hard all year to make sure H.O.G.^® members have the best experience possible, and this event brought them together to discuss how their chapters are doing, looking at riding experiences, how to make them happen, and how to improve them for the future.

This year was the biggest event yet, with 194 attendees, including representatives from 10 dealerships – highlighting the intrinsic importance of H.O.G. members to the Motor Company and retailers. As well as updates from the regional H.O.G. and Customer Experience Lead, Vicki Green, the event was also attended for the first time by Neil Bavister, the new UK and Ireland national sales manager, who shared his vision for 2026 and beyond. Marketing Lead Megan Lewis was also on hand for some of the breakout sessions as well as general questions from the membership.

Special guest speakers included Peter Dean from Harley-Davidson Financial Services, who delivered a well-welcomed update on Harley-Davidson insurance, including a brand new cover pricing system that will let members choose their level of cover and save some money if all aspects of the incredibly comprehensive current offering are not needed. The new tiers are called Harley Ultra Cover (similar to the current offering), Harley Custom Cover and Harley Bare Bones Cover. He also revealed a new 6.8% finance offer valid until 31 December 2025 – plus a new paint preservation options called Harley Appearance Protection. Head on over to your nearest dealership before the year ends to find out more about the special finance offer.

In between speakers and updates from the Harley-Davidson team, there were breakout sessions for officers to discover more about areas of interest, including a chapter directors and dealers session, a Ladies of Harley^® session, a yearly chapter activities session, one around attracting new members, and the incredibly popular social media and content sessions. Make sure you speak to your chapter director if you’d like to get involved with the media side, a WhatsApp group for social media leads has also now been set up. “Whether a chapter wants to keep its members informed, grow its membership, advertise events, or simply increase engagement, social media sits at the heart of it all,” says Chelsea and Fulham Chapter’s Manos Tsoukalas, who helped to run the sessions.

The Ladies of Harley sessions were also well received, drawing in more than 30 members, including 16 LOH^™ officers – a record number. “Our 90-minute workshop was an opportunity to have our LOH Officers and members collaborate and discuss issues that we feel have come up during our online team meetings or through emails we receive during the past 12 months,” explains Suz Paterson, Dunedin Chapter’s LOH officer, who help run the session. “One of the points of the sessions was to show that there is no right or wrong way and that we all do what our chapter and its members need and want from us. The vibe all weekend was incredible, so much positive energy and you know it is a good sign when your workshop could have continued on for another few hours at least.”

As well as the many breakout sessions and content form Harley-Davidson, there were a number of other major speakers and exhibitors –including barbequing sessions from the team at Weber. There was also a barbecuing competition, challenging two H-D dealership representatives to cook and serve the best burgers of the weekend (complete with buns and custom toppings). Carol Vaughan from Maidstone Harley-Davidson came out top, followed by Steve Willis from Sykes Harley-Davidson in second. Inspired by an earlier talk given by Kev Taplin on his Project 62 initiative, Steve decided to auction his portable barbecue prize in support of the charity. Ultimately, Allen Glasper and the Geordie Chapter took it home, and the rest of the chapters present chipped in to donate more than £4,000 for Project 62, helping fund test kits for prostate cancer. You can read more about Kev’s story and ongoing project here.

Another must-see presentation came from Valerie Steinbeck from Ireland BikeFest, an event which celebrates its 20^th Anniversary from in 2026. Set, as always, in Killarney, Republic of Ireland, it offers the opportunity for some great riding along the Wild Atlantic Way and beyond. Tickets and accommodation are now live, so head to the Ireland BikeFest website to start planning your trip!

The very last, but by no means the least, presentation to the assembled chapter representatives was from Standing with Giants. This incredible charity launched by UK-based Dan and Janette Barton and, thanks to their association with more than 17 UK chapters (and some French ones) they came along to report on progress, thank everyone and express the desire for more interaction with the Harley-Davidson community. You can read more about their association with H.O.G. here.

The ROC was an incredible event and a great opportunity for everyone to get together, learn, swap expertise, share stories and make the community even stronger. If you’re interested in becoming a chapter officer, contact your director now.

For any questions around you H.O.G. membership please contact customerservices@hog-europe.com